'We're sick of the pay, the stress, the heavy work load'

Aged care workers are stressed, working unstable hours and feeling unappreciated financially, according to a newly released survey.

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Eighty-five percent of aged care workers thought their wages did not reflect the emotionally taxing work they did, the 2016 New Zealand Aged Care Workforce Survey by the Auckland University of Technology found.

Lead researcher Dr Katherine Ravenswood said the majority of the respondents earned under $17 an hour, with 36 percent of them paid the minimum wage.